


Back Off

by Mnemosyne_Elegy



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Dealing with sexual harassment, Drama, Friendship, Gen, building self-confidence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:20:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29892780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mnemosyne_Elegy/pseuds/Mnemosyne_Elegy
Summary: When Lucy is having problems with creeps hitting on her, she asks Gray for advice on chasing them off. But soon the student surpasses the master, and she might just end up teaching him a thing or two in the end. Sometimes it's easier to solve someone else's problems than your own.
Relationships: Gray Fullbuster & Lucy Heartfilia
Kudos: 13





	Back Off

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, I was really cranky because guys were harassing me at work and vented here lol There's obviously no one-size-fits all approach for dealing with this stuff, so no need to take all of it too seriously. Personally, I get too caught up in being "polite" and awkward to always stand up for myself effectively, which is super frustrating because I can plan out savage responses in my head. It's honestly awful how many people have to deal with that shit, both women and men. For what it's worth, I have a male coworker I'm good friends with and he is always majorly supportive when I have creeps hitting on me, which was more of what I was going for with Gray's involvement here. I know it can easily be seen as condescending or patronizing to have another guy step in to those situations, but honestly there are a lot of great guys who want to help too, and I don't like lumping them in with all the shitty ones.
> 
> Also, obviously this will not paint Juvia in a great light given her own harassment, and I'm going to be unapologetic about it.

The team was relaxing in a bar in Hargeon after completing a simple bandit-hunting job when a sandy-haired man with thick muscles and greasy skin accosted Lucy. Natsu and Happy had wandered off to order more food while Gray got more drinks and Erza ran to the restroom, so Lucy was holding down the fort at the spot they'd claimed on the bar. She preferred an actual table to the bar arrangement, but it was a busy night and Erza was too pleased by their easy victory to shoo someone away from their table at sword-point. She swirled the dregs of her drink around in her glass and idly wondered exactly how much Natsu was planning to eat—they'd already had a filling enough dinner without him going back on the prowl for more food—and when they could retire to their hotel. It was already late, and they planned to be on the train back to Magnolia first thing in the morning.

"Hey there, sweetheart," said someone from behind her, and the aforementioned sandy-haired man slid onto the stool beside her in Natsu's spot. "Mind if I buy you a drink?"

Lucy shifted uncomfortably in her seat and looked over his shoulder in the hopes of seeing Natsu or Gray or Erza coming back. No such luck.

"Ah, that's okay," she mumbled. "No thanks."

He smiled winningly. "Oh, come on. It's a crime for a pretty girl like you to have an empty glass. Let me treat you."

"Um, well, it's not actually empty yet…"

He glanced at the millimeter of liquid remaining at the bottom of her glass and laughed like she'd made the funniest joke he'd ever heard. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked, sounding genuinely amused. "You're not married are you? Boyfriend?"

Lucy could feel her face heating up as she looked again for one of her friends returning and was again left to fend for herself. "Well, no…"

"Then maybe you won't mind if we chat for a few minutes? You from around here?"

"Um, not really."

"Just visiting?"

"Kinda."

Lucy twisted her hands around her glass and desperately tried to think of a way to end this conversation without starting a confrontation.

"Where are you from?"

Lucy was not sure she wanted to tell him where she lived. "Oh, um… You know, a couple cities over?"

He chuckled again. "You're cute when you're flustered." His grin broadened as she turned beet red. "So, whaddya say I buy you that drink and then maybe we take a stroll right on over to my place? I'm just a couple streets over." He waggled his eyebrows. "We could have some _fun_. You look like you could use a good time."

Lucy spluttered ineffectually and wondered why, with all the magic in the world, she couldn't sink through the floorboards and escape.

"Hey, back off," Gray said from behind her, sounding bored. He thunked their new drinks down on the counter with perhaps more force than was strictly necessary and sat down on the other side of Lucy. "The lady's not interested."

Lucy wanted to _cry_ with relief. Somehow, her footing was always steadier in awkward situations when she knew she had backup.

"Hey, sorry, man," the man said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "I didn't realize she was taken."

"She's not," Gray said shortly without looking over. "But she's still not interested."

"But if–"

Now Gray did look over, and his eyes were colder than his ice. "That was a real polite way of saying fuck off," he said. "You wouldn't want to see the rude way."

Whatever remaining bravado the wannabe Casanova still possessed fled, and he mumbled an apology and beat a hasty retreat.

"Thanks," Lucy said, snatching one of the new beers and taking a big gulp to fortify her nerves. "He didn't want to take no for an answer or take a hint."

"Yeah, those are the worst. You looked pretty uncomfortable." Gray shrugged and propped his cheek on his fist as his eyes roamed over the room. "You gotta be more forceful with those types."

"I was just trying to be polite," she muttered.

"For all the good it did you. I'm not saying you have to be rude to every guy who comes your way, but it's okay to be rude to the creepy ones who won't back off. Sometimes they see politeness as an invitation."

"That's stupid."

"It is!" Gray said in heartfelt agreement. "But there's not a lot of reasoning to be done with sleazeballs."

Lucy snorted despite herself. "I guess not. Still, I wish I could make them back off as easily as you can. For some reason, they don't seem to listen as well when it's a woman saying it."

"Then you have to be extra forceful to _make_ them listen." Gray caught her look and sighed. "I'm not saying it's fair, because it's obviously not. I'm just saying, don't worry so much about hurting someone's feelings when he obviously doesn't care about how uncomfortable he's making you. You're super strong and confident and you have no problem telling the rest of us off, so I know you can do it."

"Easier said than done." Lucy sipped at her drink, feeling very sorry for herself. Then she sat bolt upright and turned back to Gray. "You could teach me!"

He blinked back owlishly. "Excuse me?"

"You could teach me how you make creeps back off so easily. I get hit on by a lot of weirdos, and I'm no good at standing up to them." That wasn't even counting all the men she tried to charm with her feminine wiles to get discounts and better deals. She figured it probably wasn't fair to include them when she provoked them first, but some of them _were_ a bit creepy.

Gray looked disconcerted. "You really have that many creeps hitting on you?"

"Loads! Seriously, sometimes being a woman is a pain. Men are jerks."

He frowned and then shook his head. "I mean, there's not much to it. You ask them to leave you alone nicely once, and if they don't leave, just tell them to fuck off."

"But–"

Gray seemed to have lost interest already. "Looks like Erza's finally coming back."

Lucy twisted around to follow his gaze. Erza was indeed returning, and Natsu and Happy reappeared a couple minutes later with another mountain of food. The conversation was dropped.

* * *

Lucy had nearly forgotten all about her conversation with Gray by the time he pulled her aside two weeks later. He didn't raise the subject until Natsu and Happy had gone off searching for food yet again and Erza and Mira had gotten into a scuffle on the other side of the guild. Lucy watched the tiff with some consternation. She had _heard_ that the two women had been rivals for a time when they were younger, but she had never quite believed that notoriously gentle Mira could be rivals with anyone.

"Hey," Gray said, sitting next to her and shaking his head over at the bickering women.

"Hi, Gray. Can you _believe_ this?"

He snorted loudly. "This is nothing. You should've seen them a few years back. They were way worse than me and Natsu."

Lucy tore her gaze away to gape at him, goggle-eyed. "Worse?" she asked. "Who could possibly be worse than you and Natsu?"

"Trust me. They've both got a little crazy in them."

Lucy squinted at Mira, trying to imagine her as crazy. And even Erza, despite her often casual violence, believed in keeping peace in the team and guild. It was hard to imagine them truly at each other's throats.

"So weird," she mumbled to herself.

"Well, you didn't grow up with them. Anyway, you wanna go clubbing tonight?"

_That_ was enough to rip Lucy's focus away from the puzzle of Erza and Mira. " _Clubbing?_ " she asked, staring at Gray like he'd grown a second head.

He shrugged and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Well, to a bar, anyway."

" _Clubbing?_ " she repeated.

Gray let out a long-suffering sigh. "Alright, you've made your point. I'm not the clubbing type. It'll just be a normal bar. A seedy one, probably."

"A seedy bar?"

He threw her a look of great exasperation. "Are you just going to repeat everything I say?"

"But…why?"

And why her? Lucy didn't often frequent bars, and neither did Gray. It was an odd choice of bonding activity, and she wasn't sure why he would invite her even if he did decide he wanted to go.

"You wanted to practice being more assertive with creeps, right? That's the best place I can think of to attract one. I don't know what you're really expecting since there's not a whole lot to _teach_ you, but probably the best way to get results is to shore up your confidence by making it through an encounter or two."

"Oh," she said. "I had forgotten that."

Gray's look of exasperation deepened. "Well, we don't have to if you don't want to. I thought it was a little silly, but I don't like the thought of a bunch of creeps hitting on you either."

What an odd way to show affection. Gray could definitely be a strange one sometimes, but Lucy had to admit that she appreciated the effort. She _did_ have a problem with attracting the wrong type of men, Gray _did_ seem more effective at chasing them off than she was, and it _was_ nice of him to care enough to follow through when he hadn't seemed enthused about the idea to begin with.

"I'll do it," she decided. "You can show me all your tricks."

"Don't expect _too_ much," he cautioned, already looking like he was thinking about backtracking. "I'll swing by your place at nine, if that works?"

Lucy would much rather spend her evening with a mug of hot chocolate in one hand and a pen in the other, but she supposed she could give up her writing time for one night to learn some pertinent life skills.

"Sounds good," she said.

"Perfect." Gray stood and turned away, but then added, as an afterthought, "Oh, and wear something a little short and revealing, won't you? Give us a better chance to attract a mark."

.

Gray knocked on her door precisely at nine, which was problematic because Lucy had expected him to be late and planned accordingly. She'd managed to squeeze in a few minutes of writing, but now she wasn't ready to go.

Gray raised an eyebrow when she opened the door and ushered him inside. "That is about the most opposite of short and revealing that you could manage without a full jumpsuit," he said.

Lucy scowled. "I wasn't expecting you so soon. I'm not ready yet."

She tugged at the long sleeve of her pajamas, embarrassed to have been caught so underdressed. Not as bad as when Natsu clambered through the window while she was bathing, but still. It was a little chilly, and she had wanted to be cozy and comfortable in the hour she had snatched between leaving the guild and going 'clubbing'.

Gray glanced at the clock in disbelief to confirm his impression before saying, "So soon? It's nine, isn't it? That's when I said I'd come."

"But I expected you to be late," she grumbled, snatching up the clothes she had laid out on her bed and heading for the bathroom.

Gray laughed. "I can be on time when Natsu isn't around to distract me."

Lucy huffed and changed quickly in the bathroom. She had picked a short skirt, black halter top, and strappy sandals to match Gray's suggested dress code. It didn't occur to her what an awful idea that was until she followed Gray outside and remembered it was winter.

An icy breeze scraped along her skin and tugged at her hair the second she stepped out the door, and she hugged herself with a shiver.

"Why can't I wear something practical?" she complained, rubbing at her arms. "Even you're wearing clothes."

"It'll be warm inside." Gray shrugged off his coat and handed it to her. "Here."

"But–"

"It's not like the cold bothers me."

Lucy was too cold to protest further. She pulled the coat on, grimacing as the too-long sleeves flopped down over her hands. Gray smirked.

"Shut up," she said.

"I didn't even say anything. Okay, so the plan is that you're going to sit around and look pretty and hopefully snag a creep."

"Usually it's a good night if I _don't_ snag a creep."

"Tonight we need one to practice on. It's not really rocket science, just a matter of being able to stand up for yourself. Which I know you can do, since you do it in basically every other situation. It seems like you get all flustered and uncomfortable and just kind of hope they go away instead of actually telling them to."

"I _do_ tell them to go away! Sometimes. They don't listen."

"Look, Lucy. You have as much of a right to walk down the street or do a job or sit in a bar and not get harassed as any man, yeah? You shouldn't have to feel uncomfortable with their behavior—they're the ones doing something wrong.

"Sometimes you just gotta be blunt. If they ask to buy you a drink or give you a kiss or take you home or whatever and you don't want to, say no. If they still keep pressuring you, tell them to fuck off. Exactly like that. No _please, sir, you're making me uncomfortable_. And if they _still_ keep pressuring you, whip Loke out of your key ring or give them a good Lucy kick."

Lucy was already feeling out of her depth. "Doesn't that seem…a little crude and violent?"

"And? Do you have any idea how often you slap us around?"

"But you're _you_! Not just some random stranger!"

"Gee, thanks. Glad I'm more kickable than some rando off the street."

"But I don't even know them! What if they don't deserve that kind of treatment?"

"Lucy." Gray stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and regarded her in the flickering glow of the streetlight. "Maybe someone just doesn't understand how he makes you feel, but then you have to _tell_ him or his dumb ass is going to go off and do it to some other girl without thinking anything of it. And if you've told him that he's making you uncomfortable and he doesn't back off, then he deserves every bit of it. It's good to be polite and kind and all of that, but it's not your job to worry about some idiot's feelings when he doesn't care about yours."

Lucy opened her mouth, closed it again. She didn't know what to say to that, only huddled deeper in her borrowed coat.

Gray started walking again. "So just remember: say no when he asks you for something you don't want to give. Tell him flat out that you're not interested. If you're uncomfortable with that, you can say you have a boyfriend."

She cleared her throat. "But I don't have a boyfriend."

"And? He doesn't know that. You shouldn't have to be taken in order to make a guy leave you alone, but unfortunately that's just how some assholes think. I'm not saying that's the first excuse you should spit out, but if they're being particularly persistent or you need an easier way out, you can use it as a fallback excuse."

"I guess…"

"If it's still a problem or he's getting too handsy, kick him in the balls or slap him. Or let Loke do it for you."

"Is Loke very fond of kicking people in the balls?"

"He might be if someone is harassing his precious princess."

Lucy snorted. "That seems like it could escalate the situation."

"Boo-hoo. He can run home and get a Band-Aid."

"Easy to say that, but sometimes pervs get aggressive if you confront them."

Gray frowned at her. "Do you often feel threatened or in danger?"

"Well… Not usually, but I also have magic and friends to back me up. A lot of women don't have that. I've definitely met some guys who were creepy enough to be secret ax murderers on the side."

"…In that situation, you should probably ignore all my advice and not escalate."

"You don't say," Lucy said dryly. "Don't you think you're kind of…mansplaining this to me?"

Gray's eyebrows drew together like two fuzzy caterpillars, giving him an adorably perplexed expression. "I'm what?"

"Just… It sounds all good and reasonable, but this is a problem that women face and not so much…"

"Ah. I'd say it's a good idea to get another woman's perspective too, since obviously our situations will differ. I was going to suggest Erza, but she pretty much handles creeps by threatening them with swords and giving them her patented death glare, which doesn't seem like quite your style. Also, I think that glare is something you're born with, not something you can just pick up. Even thinking about it sends shivers down my spine."

Gray shuddered obligingly, and Lucy laughed. No, she couldn't imagine herself handling a persistent guy like Erza would.

"It would be a useful skill to have, though," she mused. "That death glare is about the only thing that can keep you and Natsu in line."

"Well, it's _scary_." Gray hesitated and then added, "I don't have to deal with the same shit a woman might while walking down the street, but I've dealt with my own fair share of creeps." He pulled a face. "There's probably not a one-size-fits-all approach, but I'm just telling you what has worked for me. It's not so much about the specific actions you take or the exact words you say. It's about having the confidence and self-respect to stand up for yourself when you need to."

A twinge of guilt tickled Lucy's spine as she realized she had essentially dismissed his experiences and questioned his right to give advice just because he didn't entirely understand the challenges a woman faced that might be different from his. She wasn't wrong, exactly, because it was true. But that didn't mean he couldn't have an opinion or a different perspective, and she shouldn't assume that he didn't face similar problems of his own.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean–"

"All good." Gray pointed at a rundown building with yellow light shining through the grimy windows. "We're here. You can go in first, and I'll follow a little later so it doesn't look like we're together. I'll be on the other side of the bar in case things go south. Shout if you need me."

"That's not very subtle," she said. "How do you know all the seedy bars in town? I didn't think that was your thing."

"It's not, but I got some recommendations from Cana. Don't look at me like that—I didn't tell her what it was for. She probably thinks I'm off drowning my woes in cheap beer right now. And if you're looking for something subtle, I guess we could come up with a signal. I dunno…tug at your earlobe?"

"Tug at my earlobe? Isn't that the stupidest, most cliché–?"

"See?" Gray said with a scowl. "You're plenty savage with us. If that's so bad, then…drop your bracelet and bend over to pick it up? It's loose enough."

Lucy twisted the bangle around her wrist and darted a nervous look at the bar. "I suppose that could work."

"Great. Can I have my coat back? You won't need it in there. Go on it. I'll be right behind you."

Lucy reluctantly returned his jacket. Casting one last doubtful look at Gray and receiving an encouraging nod in return, she drifted across the street and pushed the door open. The stench of cheap beer and stale vomit assaulted her nostrils, and she wrinkled her nose. This had probably been a terrible idea, but it was too late to back out now.

She found a place at the bar and waved over the bartender to get a drink. She sat there and nursed it, feeling rather small and pitiful. There was something vaguely embarrassing about drinking alone in a sea of people.

She glanced over her shoulder to see if Gray had followed her in yet. She caught a glimpse of him sitting at a table in the far corner, chatting with a giggly waitress. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes was a Herculean effort.

"You waitin' for someone, luv?"

A stocky man with greasy brown hair and glazed eyes heaved himself onto the stool beside her and slammed a sloshing tankard on the bar. That hadn't taken long. Lucy had expected to make it through at least a drink or two before someone worked up the nerve to approach her. Either she was particularly lucky (unlucky?) tonight or this place was every bit as shady as Gray had made it sound.

"Ah, no," she said. "Not really."

"Pretty girl drinkin' all by herself? Ain't that a shame. I'm alone meself, luv."

Lucy tried for a winning smile. "I actually don't mind being alone."

He guffawed. "Always more fun with company, doll."

Lucy's eye twitched. The pet names were getting old fast.

"Look," she started reasonably. "I really just–"

"Let's have a chat, yeah? Ain't gonna find any better company around here, are ya? And if we have a good time, maybe we can have some more fun later."

He gave her an appraising look, and Lucy could have sworn she felt every inch of her skin turn red. She could _feel_ him mentally undressing her.

She sputtered her way through answering a few questions with as little detail as possible before trying to excuse herself to the restroom, but he practically begged her not to go.

"Sometimes," he confided to her in a low slur, looking around the room suspiciously like it was a great secret someone might overhear, "ladies go to the powder room and don't come back. Crazy, ain't it?"

Lucy despaired. He kept getting closer and closer as he slumped towards her along the bar, slowly melting into a drunken puddle.

"I really should be going," she said, because that seemed direct enough.

"Do ya, now?" He perked up. "You live close, luv? You reckon I could come with you?"

"Uh…"

"Is he bothering you, miss?" Gray asked from behind them. He stared at her with a bland expression, like they were just two strangers at a bar.

"Uh…" She wasn't sure how to respond to his odd behavior, and there didn't seem to be a polite answer to that question.

"No, I ain't!" the drunk man said indignantly, drawing himself up from his slump. "We're just chattin' and maybe flirtin' a little. Just havin' a good time."

Lucy begged Gray silently with her eyes, and he regarded her with an expression of polite indifference. When she didn't answer after a few seconds, he shrugged.

"Is that right?" he asked. "I guess there's no harm in that, is there?"

Lucy paled. "But…"

Wasn't he supposed to _help_ her? Why else was he here? What a useless man!

"But what?" he asked, one brow ticking upward. His eyes glittered like broken glass. "He's not bothering you, right? You're not uncomfortable?"

Lucy stared back, then straightened her shoulders. "You know what?" she said with a sudden burst of confidence. "He _is_. He _is_ making me uncomfortable." She pointed her finger at the drunkard's nose, and his eyes nearly crossed trying to follow it. "I'm not interested in hooking up with you, and I don't like how you're hitting on me. It's very uncomfortable, and I'd rather be left alone."

His gaze refocused on her face and an injured expression graced his features. "Is that right, luv? Why didn't ya just say so?"

Lucy faltered. "Well…"

"You coulda just said something, and I'd have left you right alone." He heaved himself to his feet, swaying dangerously. "Sorry 'bout that, doll. Looks like I'd best be finding a way home, then. You have a good night, now."

He tottered off, and Lucy stared after him in disbelief.

"What in the world…?" she wondered aloud.

"Sometimes that's all it takes," Gray said, sitting down beside her.

"He was drunk!" Lucy protested. "Drunks aren't good with reasoning. And they tend to get belligerent and handsy."

"Not _all_ of them. He just walked away, didn't he?"

"But…"

"You shouldn't assume the worst without giving someone a chance to prove themselves…and you shouldn't always assume the best and keep giving people chances when they cross the line. With the caveat that you should prioritize your own safety and all situations are different. If you don't think they'll listen to you alone, you can also try getting help from a bystander. The bartender probably has a lot of experience with drunks harassing people."

Well, maybe she _had_ assumed. Run-ins with drunks weren't usually positive interactions, and it paid to be cautious. If she had said she wasn't interested more firmly in the beginning or said she was uncomfortable with the flirting later, would he have simply apologized and walked away then?

But he _should_ have been able to tell how uncomfortable she was from the beginning and acted on it himself. She told Gray so.

"Of course," he said. "Ignorance isn't an excuse for harassing someone. I'm just saying, you can't always count on other people to do the right thing without some prompting. You have the right to tell them what you think instead of sparing them out of politeness for their feelings. You can say _no_ politely, and maybe less politely if they don't back off."

Lucy filed that away for later reflection. Maybe there was a point in there somewhere. She couldn't make people behave the way they should, but she could look for a way to make them correct their own behavior when they overstepped their bounds. It wouldn't make the world any fairer a place, but at least it would give her a way to deal with those unfair circumstances she was often thrust into. Still, easier said than done.

Gray asked if she wanted to try again at another bar since the night was still young, but Lucy thought one encounter was more than enough. She let Gray walk her home instead—after all, she needed to steal his coat for the chilly walk back—and invited him in for hot chocolate and late-night snacks to settle the alcohol. He stayed until late, dissecting her latest manuscript—which she hadn't given him permission to read, although that had never stopped him before—and joking around.

Lucy would take that over a seedy bar any night.

* * *

Lucy watched in bemusement as Gray shrank back into a corner with the wary air of a caged animal and looked for an escape. Unfortunately, it seemed that no exit was visible around Master Bob's girth. Lucy was too far away to hear Master Bob's jovial teasing and Gray's awkward deflections, but their body language said it all. Honestly, even Natsu had handled the flamboyant man's attentions with more grace, and Natsu was not a graceful creature.

A small contingent of Blue Pegasus mages had arrived at Fairy Tail's guild hall that morning, ostensibly to escort Master Bob to discuss something or other with Makarov. As soon as the two guild masters disappeared into Makarov's study, chaos broke out. Blue Pegasus was an ostentatious and disruptive guild at the best of times, and the Trimens were the worst of the lot. Unless you counted Ichiya, who, judging by Erza's disgusted expression, might be the bottom of the barrel.

Lucy had fended off the young Casanovas without much hassle—they were a bit over-the-top but nice enough, and were content to find another young lady to woo when shooed away—but Ichiya and Master Bob were another story. Ichiya didn't slink away until Erza had drawn a sword. As for Master Bob… Well.

Once Master Bob emerged from his discussion with Makarov, he immediately began wreaking havoc. Natsu and Gray were, as usual, his especial targets, and Gray seemed to get the worst of it. There might have been a little too much hugging and touching and good-natured flirting, and Gray seemed unable to escape for long before being captured again. The look on his face was so piteous that Lucy could have laughed if she didn't have the feeling that she knew exactly how he felt. Most of her unwanted suitors weren't as affable as Master Bob, but they weren't usually quite so handsy either.

For all Gray's big talk, he sure did roll over quickly. But he supposedly knew how to chase off people who got too close, so Lucy left him to it and barricaded herself in a corner with Levy to talk books and avoid the Trimens.

She didn't think about it again until twenty minutes later, when she decided to cut her losses, say goodbye to Levy, and sneak home to steal an hour or two for writing until Blue Pegasus was safely gone. She almost stumbled over Gray lurking in the shadows outside the guild.

"Gray!" she said. "What are you _doing_?"

"Just hanging out," he said. He was twitchy, eyes darting all around and hands fiddling restlessly with his sleeves. By some miracle, he had retained his shirt. Perhaps an intentional move on his part, given Master Bob's interest.

"Outside in the shadows?" she asked. His scowl deepened, and she took pity on him. "I'm sneaking away myself, until things calm down. I was just heading home, if you wanted to walk with me."

Gray perked up. "In that case, I suppose I should accompany you. We wouldn't want you having to walk home alone."

Lucy rolled her eyes as she started down the street and Gray fell into step beside her. "Why the concern? I'm getting better at chasing off weirdos. Why aren't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"If Master Bob is making you uncomfortable, why don't you tell him so? He's nice enough. I can't imagine he wants to be making you uncomfortable, and I'm sure he'd back off if you asked. That's what you tell _me_ to do."

Gray shoved his hands deep into his pockets and glowered at the ground. "It's not the same."

Lucy's eyebrows shot up her forehead. "Oh? Whyever not?"

"It's just not," he grumbled. "He's a guild master, not some schmuck off the streets. We can't afford to go making trouble with him."

"When has that ever stopped you from misbehaving before? Anyway, it's not like he'd declare war on Fairy Tail or whatever. He'd probably just apologize and leave you alone."

"But–"

"Sounds like a bunch of excuses to me."

Gray pulled a face. "Frankly, I don't like him. But he means well enough and is just being friendly and joking around…just crossing lines along the way. I don't see the point in kicking up a fuss when he doesn't mean anything by it."

"The point is that it would make _you_ feel better. Aren't you the one who said to be upfront with people when they're crossing lines? Shouldn't you give him the chance to correct his behavior?"

"I guess…"

"I marvel at your hypocrisy."

"Excuse me?"

"You give all this advice and don't even follow it! You don't put up with nonsense most of the time, but now you're just going to let it go? You would have chewed me out if I acted like that when some perv hit on me in a bar."

Gray frowned at the ground and didn't respond, and Lucy let him be. Blue Pegasus was gone by the time they returned, so maybe the point was moot.

Lucy, on the other hand, grew only more confident. Every once in a while, she and Gray went out to a bar or wandered shady parts of town to entice the weak-willed perverts hanging around. A cheap trick, maybe, but it worked. Sometimes she'd get hit on within a few minutes of walking in, sometimes after an hour or two, and sometimes not at all. There were enough encounters to give her some practice, combined with one or two naturally occurring situations in her daily life.

Most of the time, guys would back off when she first told them she wasn't looking to hook up, or would at least limit themselves to light flirting. The persistent ones required a firmer hand, and although it was still uncomfortable to take a hard line sometimes, she was getting better at it. When all else failed, she pretended her harasser was Gray or Natsu doing something particularly stupid, and then she had to fight to _stop_ herself from punching them.

She never quite took to Gray's downright rude tactics—not really her style—until one night when someone tried to slip a hand up her skirt. Then she slapped his hand away and told him in no uncertain terms to leave her the fuck alone, and he had scuttled off in the face of her fury. Gray, meanwhile, laughed his head off and said he was proud, which earned him a whack upside the head.

The whole experience made her feel a little icky and unsettled, but also powerful. There was a certain kind of power in throwing social niceties to the wind and slapping a jerk with the full brunt of her feelings. It was an almost heady feeling.

Apparently it did go to her head, although she didn't realize it until Natsu took his joking a little too far one day and she snapped back.

She looked him straight in the eye and said, "Fuck off, Natsu."

The stunned look on his face was priceless, but his bewildered expression didn't quite bring the same satisfaction she'd gotten from turning her words on a person who deserved it.

Even Gray eyed her with a look of fearful awe.

"I've created a monster," he said to himself, then cackled like a hyena until Natsu got his wits about him again and picked a fight.

Lucy decided to end her experiment there. That style might work for Gray and Natsu, but not for her. In the end, she preferred to be polite but firm. And if that failed, firmer and less polite. Maybe it wasn't exactly the way Gray had advised her to go, but it was the way that worked for her.

And when she stood up to someone hitting on her or being rude in the street or trying to cheat her in the shops, she couldn't help but feel just a little bit powerful.

* * *

"But Juvia made them for Gray-sama herself! Look! She decorated them with Gray-sama's face!"

Lucy rolled her eyes as Juvia brandished the plate of disturbingly Gray-faced cookies and Gray stepped back. This game had already been going on for a few minutes, starting with Gray firmly turning down the gift and Juvia refusing to take no for an answer. It had only deteriorated from there.

It was, frankly, a little painful to watch, and Lucy supposed she owed Gray for chasing off a creep or two for her in the past.

"Where are you going?" Natsu asked as she stood up.

"I'm going to handle Gray's problem."

"Pfft, let the ice princess stew! It's hilarious."

Lucy cast Natsu a sidelong look before strolling over to Gray and Juvia arguing in the middle of the room.

"Look, Juvia," Gray said with as much tact as he could muster, "I really don't–"

"Oh, how cute!" Lucy said, although truthfully she found the idea of eating someone's face rather repulsive, particularly a person that she knew.

Gray blinked at her in bemusement, but Juvia's glare was far more hostile.

"They are not for love rival," Juvia said stiffly.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Lucy said dryly. "I just thought they were cute. I thought the same thing when I saw Natsu with one, so I figured I might as well compliment the chef."

Juvia frowned. "Natsu-san?"

"Yeah, he was eating one earlier. He has another that he's saving for later. You didn't give them to him? Oh, dear. Maybe he swiped some when you weren't looking."

Juvia went still, her gaze darting past Lucy to rest on Natsu chatting away with Happy and Erza at their usual table. He was still blissfully oblivious to the whirlwind about to descend on him, but Lucy figured that Erza was nearby to intervene if things got _too_ bad.

"Gray-sama, Juvia will be right back. She will recover Gray-sama's cookies."

Juvia rushed off to accost Natsu, screeching like an angry pterodactyl. Gray stared after her with the most perplexed expression Lucy had ever seen for a solid two seconds before catching on and making a run for it. He spun on his heel and ran from the guild, flashing Lucy a wan half-smile as he went.

Lucy followed at a less breakneck pace. She caught up to Gray when he was halfway down the street, but only by jogging after him.

"What a pathetic display," she huffed.

Gray snorted. "I see _you_ didn't stick around either. What did poor Natsu ever do to you?"

"Oh, please. You'd be laughing your head off if you weren't still scared out of your mind that Juvia will catch you." Lucy paused, feeling a sudden pang of guilt as she wondered if she'd gone too far. It _was_ a rather cruel thing to have done to Natsu. But then she remembered the previous night and hardened her heart. "He climbed through my window and burst into the bathroom looking for me while I was in the bath."

Gray snorted loudly and turned a considering gaze on her.

She blinked back and then flushed crimson. "Don't even think about it!"

"You said it, not me."

"Why, you–!"

"Shh!"

Gray, who had returned to his vigilant surveillance of the street behind them, grabbed her arm and dragged her into an alley between two shops.

"Hey!" she said.

"Shhhh!" Gray settled into the shadows and peered out at the street with narrowed eyes. Lucy subsided, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"Gray-samaaa!" Juvia wailed. They glimpsed her drifting past their hiding place, still holding the plate of cookies. "Gray-samaaa! Juvia has the cookies!"

Gray didn't relax until she was well out of sight and earshot.

"How much of your time do you spend hiding behind trash cans?" Lucy asked, wrinkling her nose at the garbage bins lining the alley.

"The woman's a bloodhound," he grumbled. "Maybe we should stay put for a minute, just in case. Once I think I'm safe, that's when she finds me."

"Maybe you shouldn't just hide…"

"But she follows me everywhere! She even sits outside my window and watches me at night sometimes! I had to buy _curtains_! I have to be able to get away from her somehow."

"Why don't you just tell her to stop?"

Gray threw her a scathing look. "I _have_. All the time."

"Maybe you should be firmer about it."

"Firmer? I'm downright mean about it, and she _still_ won't give up! She won't take no for an answer."

"Then maybe you're not being firm enough." Lucy paused and studied him with new eyes. "Unless… Maybe you _are_ interested?"

A weaker woman might have withered under his incredulous stare.

"No, of course not."

"Then why don't you just escalate things? You told me that when being firm isn't working, you need to take a harder line, even if it means being rude."

"I _am_ rude," Gray muttered. He sighed and shook his head, raking his fingers through his hair. "It's not the same."

Lucy was unimpressed. "That's what you said about Master Bob."

"She's a guild member, Lucy. I can't just do whatever I want."

"Why not? You're plenty mean to Natsu."

He groaned. "You're missing the point. Look, Juvia is nice enough, but totally obsessed with me. I'm…worried about what will happen if I push her too far. I don't know how she would handle it. It's hard being mean all the time, so sometimes I cave when I feel bad, and then it encourages her to think she has a chance. She's very stubborn. And she tends to see what she wants to see, no matter what I do."

Lucy wondered if the dance Gray and Juvia played was really so much more complicated than she had realized. Surely there must be a better way to chase off a lovesick suitor?

"Have you ever tried telling her that her behavior makes you uncomfortable?" she asked.

Gray's eyes flashed with exasperation. "Of course I have." He paused, brows drawing together in thought, and then added, "Well… Maybe not in those exact words. But I've told her that I'm not interested and that I want her to stop, which should be enough."

"It should be," Lucy agreed. "But sometimes people need more than that, right?"

"Hm."

"Look, she's going to get hurt in the end either way. And it's not fair that you have to deal with so much discomfort in the meantime. Maybe you should just trust that she'll be strong enough to take care of herself and look after yourself instead."

She could tell from his skeptical expression that he wasn't convinced, but maybe he would at least think about it. He really was a terrible hypocrite, not following any of his own advice. Men. They thought they knew everything, then still stumbled and fell on their faces when the situation was turned back on to them.

But it wasn't Lucy's place to interfere, so she didn't.

She didn't think about it too much until a couple weeks later while turning her sex appeal on a young, gangly shopkeeper's assistant in the hopes of charming a discount out of him. The sex appeal tactic always had mixed results, and this boy was proving to be a tough nut to crack. Not that he wasn't interested, exactly, but he seemed like he'd rather sink through the floor than look her in the eye.

His face flushed beet red, and he stumbled and stammered over every word, wringing his hands together and looking anywhere but at her. She almost felt bad for him, but his extreme shyness was making it very difficult to get her discount.

Lucy badgered him for a few minutes without success, turning up the charm and flaunting some of her assets before thinking, quite suddenly, of a few different things. She thought of Gray's discomfort with the consistent and unwanted attentions of Juvia and Master Bob, the piece of advice about not deliberately making people uncomfortable or disregarding their feelings, and her own feelings when being hit on by stubborn and inappropriate men when she _wasn't_ using her wiles to wheedle them.

So she stopped. She didn't think it was bad to flirt or flaunt or even to use her advantages to get what she wanted, not exactly. But she _did_ think that maybe it was unkind—and, perhaps, even hypocritical—of her to do so in such a way that she didn't care who she made uncomfortable or what lines she crossed with them.

She apologized and paid full price and went on her way, and even managed to charm a hesitant smile out of the boy once she took a step back. She hadn't gotten what she wanted in the end, but she thought that maybe she had gotten something even more important.

* * *

The more Lucy stood up for herself, the more she noticed when she or someone else got themselves into similar situations. She found it easier to tell if a man was about to hit on her when he approached or if he just needed directions or was only saying hello as he went by. And she noticed all the times Juvia got under Gray's skin and picked up on when he was only a bit irritated or genuinely uncomfortable.

She supposed that it was his fault, really, at least in part, for not putting an end to it once and for all. But if she thought about it that way, then it was her fault when creeps bugged her too much, because she hadn't been firmer when they didn't take a hint. Maybe it wasn't fair to put the blame on the object of such attentions when they had made their feelings on the subject clear, whether they told their harasser to fuck off in exactly those terms or not.

_Victim-shaming_ , Lucy admonished herself. _Bad girl._

She hadn't realized exactly how much the situation with Juvia really affected Gray until she started paying closer attention to it. It began making her a little bit angry to see how Juvia ignored all the signs, whether she fancied herself in love or not. But Gray wanted to handle things his own way, and Lucy would let him even if she thought it was stupid.

Or that was her plan, and it worked for a few weeks until one particularly harrowing squabble between Gray and Juvia. Lucy hadn't caught the start of the incident because she'd been running late, but she walked in halfway through. Juvia had cornered Gray at the train station, where he waited with the rest of the team to catch a train. It seemed that she had decided she wanted to go on a job with Gray instead or, barring that, to come with the team. Gray was emphatically telling her no, but she was especially determined today. Maybe a carryover from some earlier rejection Lucy hadn't been privy to.

Natsu and Happy were content to sit back and laugh at Gray's growing irritation and discomfort, and not even Erza seemed able to put a stop to things while Juvia steadfastly ignored everyone but Gray. Gray himself seemed to be quickly losing ground, face set in tight lines as he hunched his shoulders and surreptitiously backed away.

Lucy tolerated the display for a few minutes, tapping her foot against the tile and eyeing the clock on the wall. When it became clear that this was not going to wrap up before their train left, she decided to intervene. It was only because they were going to miss their train, not so much because Gray looked like he wanted to disappear and reminded Lucy a little too much of herself trying to shrink down and escape scrutiny when a guy with alcohol on his breath got too close for comfort.

"You need to stop," she said. "Our train is about to leave. This is a team job, and you weren't invited."

Juvia turned on her, face painted with disbelief and outrage. "Juvia did not ask love rival. Juvia is speaking with Gray-sama."

Lucy braced her hands on her hips. "Gray-sama is not interested. He already told you that this was a team job and he'd see you back at the guild after. In fact, he's told you multiple times to leave him alone because he's not interested. Maybe you should try listening to what he's saying for a change."

Gray had gone very pale. " _Lucy_ ," he hissed. She ignored him.

"Love rival is only trying to chase Juvia away from Gray-sama so she can–"

" _No_." Lucy glared at Juvia, eyes narrowing to slits. "Gray is not really my type, actually. But he _is_ a good friend, so I'm going to explain something to you on his behalf. He is not in love with you. All your stalking and flirting and downright sexual harassment make him uncomfortable, and you won't take no for an answer when he asks you to stop. When he asks you to back off and you refuse, you are being extremely disrespectful to him. If you care about him as much as you say you do, then why don't you respect his feelings?"

Juvia couldn't have looked more wounded if Lucy had backhanded her across the face.

" _Lucy_ ," Gray hissed again. "You need to stop."

Lucy cast a baleful look his way. "Well? Do you want her to stop or not? Does she make you uncomfortable?"

Gray opened his mouth and darted looks between the two women.

"Gray-sama?" Juvia asked in a thin voice.

He straightened his shoulders and swallowed hard, but looked her straight in the eye. "Yes," he said. "Yes, you are making me very uncomfortable, Juvia. I've already asked you to take a step back, and you only keep pushing me. I need you to back off."

Juvia stared at him a few seconds longer, then burst into tears and ran back out of the station.

"Well," said Lucy, checking the clock again. "At least we'll make our train."

"Lucy, you shouldn't have done that," Gray said. His face was all pinched up in a strange way, and he did not look as grateful as he should.

"Why not? If you aren't going to be hard enough on her, someone has to be."

He shook his head. "No, Lucy. That isn't your place. That's something Juvia and I need to work out. I appreciate your intentions, and maybe you're better at giving her some hard truths than I am, but you crossed a line too."

Lucy had only been trying to help, but… Well, maybe she had poked a little too far into Gray's personal life. It wasn't her job to sort out all his problematic relationships for him. Maybe it hadn't been her place, but he was her friend and she wanted to help.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to interfere so much. She was just making me angry, and you were miserable."

"It's okay." He rocked a step towards the exit and frowned at the door Juvia had disappeared through. "Maybe I should…"

"No, don't. If you go after her now with explanations or apologies, things will go back to exactly the way they were before. You know how she is. She'll take it as encouragement. Give her some time and space to calm down. When she comes back to you, then you can lay things out for her. Don't go chasing after her. Maybe she's stronger than you give her credit for."

"I guess…"

Lucy shooed him onto the train, glaring daggers at Natsu and the others when they cracked jokes and asked questions.

Unsurprisingly, Magnolia was halfway flooded by the time they returned from their job. It rained for days and Juvia was nowhere to be found, and the worried lines on Gray's face continued to deepen.

A few days later, Lucy was on her way to the guild and almost stumbled over Gray and Juvia talking on a bench outside the shops. She shamelessly hid behind the corner and eavesdropped.

Gray and Juvia discussed boundaries for several minutes, mostly Gray laying out the things that made him uncomfortable and how they needed to be toned back while Juvia sniffled and nodded halfheartedly. This Gray was different from the pushover who had spent days debating running after his stalker to apologize for finding her attentions distasteful. He was polite but firm as he detailed what behavior was unacceptable.

Lucy wasn't sure how well Juvia would take to it, given her nature, but she nodded occasionally and mumbled that she would try before drifting off in a dejected slump.

"I don't know how much of it will stick," Gray confided to Lucy later, when she casually asked how things were going. "I did talk to her, but… You know how she is. She said she would try, though. That's something. Even if she just starts toning it down a little, that's a win. It's a start."

"I'm glad," Lucy said with a smile. "Good for you, standing up for yourself."

He shrugged. "You shouldn't have interfered like that, I still think you crossed a line yourself, but at least it gave me the push to take a harder line with her. I don't know why it's so hard to stand up to things like that when we're so good at standing up for ourselves for everything else."

"You know, I was wondering that myself. For the life of me, I can't figure it out."

"Ah, well. We're figuring out how to overcome it, so I guess that's the important part."

* * *

It was months later that the team stopped by Blue Pegasus. They needed information on a job in the area, and then swung by again afterwards to thank the guild for their help. Which was a cause to party, of course, and they got stuck there for ages.

In the midst of the chaos, Lucy noticed Gray speaking quietly to Master Bob in the corner, mouth set in a grim line and eyes averted. Master Bob's own jovial features slowly morphed into something more solemn, and the two men talked for a couple minutes before Gray nodded and smiled a little tightly and drifted away again.

Lucy gave him a minute and then sidled up beside him.

"What were you talking about with Master Bob?"

He raised an eyebrow, not fooled by the façade of innocent curiosity. "I asked him to tone down the flirty behavior because it makes me uncomfortable, just like you said I should."

"And what did he say?"

"He said thank you." Gray shook his head in disbelief. "And that he thought I was just playing along and didn't realize I was genuinely uncomfortable. Can you believe it?"

"Actually…"

"Yeah, yeah, that's what you said. But still." He shook his head again.

Lucy smiled at his consternation. Really, he could be a little silly sometimes. It was nice to see him slowly detangling some of the knots he'd made of the problems he didn't want to face. Even Juvia had begun scaling back her behavior, even if she still sometimes brought gifts and flirted outrageously and got a little too close. They were at least trying to find a balance, and it showed in how Gray didn't look like he wanted to disappear every time she approached him. Maybe they would even become proper friends someday. Now even Master Bob was being dealt with.

And, honestly, Gray looked like the weight of the world was being lifted slowly from his shoulders.

"I'm glad that's taken care of," Lucy said. "It's about time you started taking your own advice."

Gray snorted. "Crazy how it's so much easier to help someone else solve their problems than to solve your own."

"Yeah… Maybe having some distance helps you get a little perspective." They watched their friends fending off the Trimens in companionable silence for a few moments before Lucy added, "Thanks, Gray. Having your perspective really helped me find my footing. Crazy how a little self-respect goes such a long way."

"Oh, I didn't do anything. You're already strong and confident enough. You just needed a little push for the situations where you didn't want to be confrontational even when you needed to be." Gray paused and smiled ruefully. "And maybe I did too. Thank you too, Lucy."

"Of course." She smiled slyly back. "Maybe you can use some of those newfound skills to stand up to Erza when she gets on your case."

He paled considerably. "Are you crazy? Some situations should _never_ be confrontational."

Lucy snorted as Erza barreled across the hall, chasing Ichiya with a sword. Maybe she would talk to Erza next, for lessons on what to do with the _particularly_ persistent creeps.

**Author's Note:**

> Idk why sometimes it's so much easier to stand up for other people than for yourself? I get way more worked up and vocal when I see someone else being treated poorly, and then am too shy and awkward to do anything about it when I'm the one dealing with it. I kind of wanted to put Gray and Lucy on more equal footing because they're both super strong and confident characters who occasionally have a hard time standing up for themselves. And in those situations, I think it's good to have a friend's support.
> 
> Again, doesn't really need to be taken too seriously, I'm just peeved lol


End file.
